Listen as Nora Young, from CBC's Spark (a radio show about technology and culture), interviews McGonigal about the science of self-control, and how we can use it to improve our health, happiness, and productivity. These are themes from McGonigal's recent book, The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters and How to Get More of It.

She explains how, for example, getting more sleep and meditating are fantastic ways to reduce stress and train the brain to have more willpower. She also says people need to slow down and investigate why they think certain things:

In both the book and in the class, I do far more telling people to pay attention than to go in actually try to control and change things right away. It's that the paying attention that really helps.